


we're just two ghosts (standing in the place of you and me)

by goldenrainberri



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Fluff, Forbidden Love, I MADE A PLAYLIST FOR IT OMG, M/M, cute but also sad, harry is a human, idk how tags work it's my first fanfic, kinda dark academia vibes idk, louis is a ghost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:40:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28996857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenrainberri/pseuds/goldenrainberri
Summary: louis peeked out from the shelves full of dusty books, looking around to make sure the boy was actually talking to him, "wait, you can see me?""yeah, i can," harry smiled warmly at him, "you're not used to it, right?"louis looked down at the floor and then at the boy with the soft curls and captivating blue eyes. a wide grin came up onto his face, "no, but i think i might like how it ends up,"or, where louis is a ghost trapped in an old library and harry unexpectedly meets him on a fateful autumn afternoon.-----trigger warnings: death, blood, mention of alcohol, abuse, mention of suicide
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 2





	we're just two ghosts (standing in the place of you and me)

**Author's Note:**

> hi there! i came up with this prompt as i was listening to [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1BJ4U9cJFc&t=2720s%E2%80%9Drel=) and decided to write what came to my mind at that point.  
> this is my first larry au and story i've written in ages that's not school-related and i'm really excited about sharing it with you guys. hope you like it and tell me what you think about it :)
> 
> i decided to take some songs off the above one and made my own [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6txj5qR7HhCpH6c3xh4Ky0?si=VopmFErZRfe-RPqSOo2ddg)  
> .  
> it's in no particular order, you play it as it is or shuffled.  
> \-----
> 
> \- i'd also like to mention that most of the trigger warnings count for the very beginning of this story but the topics will also be mentioned later on  
> \- also, this au will mainly focus on harry and louis, the other boys aren't a big part of it, they might be randomly mentioned here and there  
> \- i switch pov's a lot but i'll put whose it is when it switches  
> 

* * *

the library sitting at the top of the hill was an old relic of the university. built in the early 20th century, it had been a gift to the eldest daughter of the family who used to live on the plot of land that now housed the university. given to her by her fiancé as a wedding present, she practically lived in the building, spending hours upon hours in there escaping from the harsh reality of her marriage by reading which transported her to different places, even if it was for only a little while.

often times the girl would get so lost in her books that she forgot how quickly time passed. her husband would arrive utterly drunk to their home and would angrily go and get her, berating her for forgetting about her marital duties once he arrived. he would yell at the maids and service, throwing things at them as they stared at him dragging his wife through the main entrance and up the staircase to their bedroom. unfortunately, there wasn't anything they could do after what happened the last time they tried to interfere and could only helplessly listen to the girl's screams coming from upstairs.

time passed and she eventually became a mother to five children - three boys and two girls. she had hoped that with the presence of kids and the prohibition laws that had been recently passed, her husband would stop drinking and would try to become the husband she had always dreamed of having, but it only became worse. now, instead of just focusing his anger on her like he did before, he would find ways to blame it on the kids. the woman would hide them in the library, locking the door to it when her husband came home from work. once he was finished with yelling at her, he would go after the kids rattling the doors so hard that the walls shook. the eldest of the kids would always have to comfort his younger siblings, telling them that everything would be okay. he wasn't afraid to face his abusive father, and he would do it over and over again to make sure his mother and siblings would always be safe.

eventually fate caught up with the man. he was found in his study, slumped over his desk with a letter-cutter lodged in his throat and the carpets stained with blood. his death had not been the only one though, and when his widow found out about the other, her heart shattered into a million pieces. she became a soulless person after that, wandering the halls of the house by herself, ignoring her other children and soon after succumbed to death because of a broken heart. 

the library was left there as a reminder of the ones who had perished and decades later, on the other side of the university campus a newer building was constructed. they filled it with gadgets and technology that the old one wasn't able to offer. there were plans to build a memorial in place of the latter, but yet nothing was ever done about it. the board probably wanted to keep it that way to respect the souls of the dead.

very few students actually visited the library at the top of the hill and those that did stayed there for a little while. when they came back they claimed there was something "off" about it that they just couldn't place their finger on. no one knew exactly _what_ had happened there or _if_ something had happened, the tales about the place had been told so many times by so many different people that as time passed, it became more like a myth.

besides some professors that would go in once in a while to grab an old textbook or copies of novels, the place was pretty much always a ghost town - except there was this one boy. 

* * *

**harry's pov:**

it was a crisp autumn afternoon. nothing special about it, just the typical vibrantly colored leaves and chill in the air. a boy strode down the sidewalk, hands in his coat pockets, with his nose tucked into his scarf and the leaves crunching beneath his feet as he made his way down a familiar path. on his back, was his backpack full of books, pens and paper and the occasional gum wrapper which he always forgot to throw away in the trash. as he turned a curb he messed with the beanie on his head, trying to make it cover his freezing ears. he wasn't really cold, mind you, he just had sensitive ears. or at least that's what he told everyone when they made fun of his ears turning red whenever it was below 40 degrees. 

he sniffed several times, rubbing his finger underneath his nose. _almost there,_ harry thought. today had been a long day after several exams and pulling all-nighters desperately studying so that he could keep a good grade in all his classes. 

he was on his way to the library where he could finally enjoy some peace and quiet. most days he'd go back to his dorm with his buddy niall, who'd always find some way to cheer him up. whether it was making up a song on the spot with his guitar or going out to get something to eat, niall was always the one who could brighten up your day, no matter how low you were feeling. but not today, harry wanted something different.

as he was nearing the library, he stopped suddenly. something wasn't right. he racked his brain thinking about what he could've forgotten. he had a weird feeling that something would happen. or was it a deja vu of some kind?

harry shook his head trying to not care too much about that feeling. He soon reached the steps of the library and he glanced upwards, smiling to himself. there was something about this ancient place that brought him joy. maybe it was the history of it, or maybe he just enjoyed the ambiance. he wasn't too sure what it was but it definitely was a lovely feeling.

as he climbed up the steps to it, he peered back to see the campus of the university. everything looked so small, almost like those miniature houses that some families would put up for christmas, building entire towns out of them in their living rooms. the people seemed microscopic, walking around like ants on a mound of dirt. _was it this that he liked about this place?_ the fact that he felt powerful just by seeing everything and everyone be smaller than him, that if he closed his eyes for some moments, he could pretend he was zeus on mount olympus and with just a flick of his wrist he could send bolts of lightning crashing down on everyone. 

or maybe it was that no one ever came here and he could be himself without anyone judging him.

the boy sighed delicately and opened his eyes again. the sky had grown slightly darker than it was before and he was quickly reminded that he only had a few hours before it would be nightfall. 

he resumed his hike up the stairs eventually making it to the front doors. he took the knob in his hands and opened them being greeted by a puff of dust. he guessed the library was glad he was back. harry felt a tickle in his nose and resisted the urge to sneeze loudly, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness. 

the building was a beautiful place, the inside made of warm, brown woods that looked golden when the sun coming in from the windows above hit them at just the right time of day. rows and rows of shelves with books old and new, large and small, fiction and non-fiction filled them to the brim. it didn't matter if someone was coming in to find something specific or vague, they were always going to find it.

although no one was rarely ever here, harry enjoyed it. he loved the red, comfy, victorian-looking armchairs, like the ones you'd find in a late 19th century study. you know, the ones in movies where the main character would sit in as they welcomed their guest inside their office to talk. the ones where the person would sit in with a pipe in between their fingers as they read the day's newspaper or a book from their vast collection. 

the boy closed the doors behind him and wandered in between the shelves deciding to waste some time before studying. because honestly, who liked studying? so he grabbed a random book off one of the shelves and made his way to a cozy nook. he put his books and papers on a table next to the chair and sat down in a chair, turned on the light from a lamp on a corner table and began reading. 

* * *

**louis' pov:**

no one ever really visited the library anymore. back when this one was the only one that existed, students would flock it and remain here for hours studying for exams, reading books in the comfortable chairs or even just hanging out with their friends. but as the years went by, less kids would come here until eventually just the professors were the ones that came inside. but it was just to get a book, never to sit down and read or take a break from the day.

louis didn't knew why people stopped coming to the library. nothing had ever changed, it had always been the same. he never did actually find out - he couldn't leave the library. he guessed it was because they eventually had better things to do than read, after all the world was always changing and along with it did people.

louis missed the old days, when he could walk around the library seeing what books the kids were reading at the moment, often stealing one of their books just for fun to see them panic, but he usually gave them back. he would give the ones that were having trouble with homework a little help, even if they never figured out who it was from or just playing the piano in the corner. the students never questioned who was playing the music, they assumed the piano was an automatic one that played tunes by itself. louis was glad that they enjoyed the songs, he played it for them to make them happy and relaxed, to see a smile on their faces whenever he played their favorite tune. once in a while, some of the kids would get up from the chairs and dance if he was playing a minuet or a waltz or they would even doze off if he played one of chopin's nocturnes. 

most of the time, he would spend the day playing pieces on the piano, since that was the only thing that brought him any joy anymore. louis remembered playing those songs for his mother before she had passed away. she would sit on the sofa in the parlor while he would run his graceful fingers up and down the shiny keys, the melody of the song echoing throughout the house. whenever his father left for work, he would play for his entire family and even the service, letting them enjoy the few moments of tranquility they could get before his father arrived back home.

when people stopped coming to visit the library, the boy would play and play until his fingers hurt and after that would resort to floating in between the shelves searching for a story that he hadn't yet read. it was a hard thing to do, of course. after residing in the building for nearly a century, he practically had read every single book that existed in there.

it wasn't until about a few weeks ago that a new visitor began to brighten up his days. the boy would come in about every other two days, a seemingly heavy bag on his back that caused him to slouch over until he took it off. he would sit down at the same spot every time and spend some hours going between studying, reading a random book he picked off from the shelf or fiddling around on a little black box that lit up. louis didn't know what that object was used for, but it seemed to entertain the curly-haired boy because he would often let out a tiny giggle and then quickly look up and cover his mouth as if there were more people in the room. some time later, he would then pack up and, taking one final glance around would leave the library making sure nothing was left out of order.

louis was in the main hallway area, sitting on chair with a huge pile of books on the table in front of him. he had recently rediscovered a few of his all-time favorite books and had wanted to reread them. he had been sitting there for an hour or so trying to get into the book, but his mind would wander and he had to restart from the beginning. louis sighed and put the novel aside. that small box had been on his mind for the past few days and he couldn't stop thinking about what it was. he had decided that the next time the visitor with the mysterious object came in, he would try to find out what it was.

suddenly, the door opened and the boy came in holding a few textbooks in his arms, quietly humming a tune and went to his typical study area. louis got up and followed him weaving in between the shelves his eyes on the thing in the boy's hand. he watched the student place his things on the table and then leave most likely to find a book to read. 

this was his chance! louis sped over to the table and peered down at the object. he picked it up warily and stared at it. nothing happened. _wait, was that his reflection?_ he stared at himself for a while then turned it around looking at even tinier knobs protruding from the sides. _hmm._ he pressed one and the front of the box lit up. there were white numbers showing up on it reading 2:32pm. _so the time, right?_ then it went dark again before he had a chance to see anything else. louis pressed the same thing on the side and the box lit up once more. he squinted at it, the bright light coming from it blinding him for a second. he touched it a couple of times and then slid his finger around. a new image came up - himself. louis jumped at the sight of him in the box. _how was it possible?_ he peered at his image intensely, which copied his exact movements. if he opened his mouth, his copy would open it as well. if he stuck his tongue out, his copy would also stick his out, almost mocking him in a way. 

he continued like this for a while, making faces at the other louis in the box and laughing silently. he was having so much fun that he didn't notice the curly-haired boy observing him from behind a shelf.

* * *

**harry's pov:**

harry had always noticed a certain presence following him around the library ever since the day he first began to go there. he never got the chance to find out who it was though, they were always so well hidden from him that harry never once saw their face. 

today however, was the day he found out who it was that was following him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> ooh, first chapter finished! i'll update as soon as i can, but schools's kicking my butt right now so it might take a while  
> also if you saw any spelling errors, no you didn't


End file.
